The British fighters came up a little short in those two fights mentioned, but I think both have raised their stock in the performances- Anthony Yarde will certainly come again and Leigh Wood looked to be up on the cards before the Lara power came through at the end of the Seventh Round.
There was some criticism of the corner stoppage in the Wood loss, but I think Ben Davison made the right call- Leigh Wood looked out on his feet and Lara is a brutal finisher, which could have meant a serious injury for the former Champion who will likely get a shot at winning back his crown later this year.
The question for the Wood team is whether they allow Lara to go into a trilogy with Josh Warrington with the promise of fighting the winner or take the immediate rematch with Lara themselves. I am not a member of that team that will make the decision, but I think I would be leaning with a fight against the winner and just give Leigh Wood a little more time to right himself after making one costly mistake in a fight where he performed really well.
January and February are now behind us and we go into the next two months of the calendar with some huge fights on the dock. This month is going to be rounded off by the massive Caleb Plant and David Benavidez fight and I cannot wait for that, but March begins with a top bout in the Featherweight Division when Brandon Figueroa and Mark Magsayo meet in Ontario, California, on Saturday evening.
This is for an interim World Title with the winner expected to face Rey Vargas next, while this is a bubbling Division where Mauricio Lara is another Champion. If Figueroa wins, he might even decide it is worth going back down to Super Bantamweight and fight the winner of the upcoming Stephen Fulton-Naoya Inoue super fight, but this is a fight against Magsayo that looks like it will produce epic fireworks.
I am expecting this weekend to be the start of a really good run over the next couple of months, although we did hear bad news that the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano rematch has been postponed due to an injury to the latter.
Matchroom Boxing has not had much luck over the last few days with Callum Smith pulling out of his headline fight next week with an injury of his own, but the return of Anthony Joshua is now less than a month away. I am surprised that we have not had more noise around that fight, especially from Eddie Hearn and the team, but I am expecting that to be ramped up next week as Matchroom continues to promote the card from Liverpool even after losing the top of the bill fighter.
This has not been the start to the season for the Boxing Picks that I would have liked, but I have been slightly unfortunate with a couple of selections that would have turned the results on their head.
Hopefully better is to come with some top bills coming up.
Brandon Figueroa vs Mark Magsayo
There are some interim World Title fights that may not really be up to scratch, but I think this one has all of the makings of a barnstormer.
The saying 'never judge a book by its cover' seems to apply very well to 'The Heartbreaker' Brandon Figueroa who has perhaps been considered a different kind of fighter than he actually is, largely down to the way he looks.
However, he has proven time and again that he is willing to bite down on the gum shield and fight through a storm if he needs to and Brandon Figueroa is a tough customer. A very narrow defeat to Stephen Fulton in a very good fight shows what kind of level that Figueroa is capable of operating at, and his move upwards into the Featherweight Division means there are some big fights in front of him.
One of those is coming up as soon as this Saturday with the winner of this one set to face Rey Vargas for the full WBC World Title.
Brandon Figueroa has looked big at his previous weight and he does have the height and reach advantage over Mark Magsayo, who is best known for becoming the second fighter to beat Gary Russell Jr after Vasyl Lomachenko. Like his opponent, Magsayo's only professional defeat came in a razor thin Split Decision to the aforementioned Rey Vargas and the Filipino will be confident of being able to turn that around in any potential rematch.
Of course he has a very tough opponent blocking that path to Vargas-Magsayo II and this feels like a fight that can only be fun to watch.
Both are going to believe they can hurt the other and I think the styles are likely to gel perfectly.
So who wins?
The one common opponent is Julio Ceja and Mark Magsoya crushed him in the Tenth Round after Brandon Figueroa earned a Draw. However, the Figueroa-Ceja fight saw the latter come in way overweight and that has to be factored in when considering the outcomes.
Also, you cannot forget Julio Ceja had Mark Magsayo in a whole heap of trouble in the Fifth Round before the Filipino found a special punch to end the fight in the Tenth and the body work which had hurt Magsayo will certainly have been noted by Brandon Figueroa.
A devastating win over Carlos Castro in his first fight at this weight limit shows that Figueroa will carry his power, although you do have to wonder how he will stand up to the big shots that Mark Magsayo is almost certainly going to land. The American does not always use his advantages of height and length and that will mean having to deal with the punching power of Magsayo, but I do think Brandon Figueroa will create a lot of punishment too.
My feeling is that both of these top class Boxers could hit the canvas, but Brandon Figueroa's body shot work could pay dividends when all is said and done.
Mark Magsayo gets massive respect from me, but I think 'The Heartbreaker' is capable of breaking him down in the second half of the fight and he will find a way to earn the Stoppage in what could be a fight where many will be calling to see it all again.
One of the undercard fights I am looking forward to seeing involves a returning Jarrett Hurd who was once considered the best fighter in the Light Middleweight Division.
Those days are gone and he has lost two of his last three fights, but Hurd returns from an almost two year lay off as he looks to get his career back on track.
I am a big fan of Hurd and I do hope there is more left in the tank as he returns at the Middleweight limit, but he will be tested by Jose Resendiz, although the Mexican has not exactly been much more active than the favourite.
Jarrett Hurd has the length to win this fight, and he may need the cards to do so, but the hope is that he looks good enough to move into a position to take on some of the better fighters in a tough Division.
There is another card of interest on Saturday and this one comes from Newcastle, England as two former Matchroom promoted fighters meet in the main event.
It is an eliminator for the WBA Light Welterweight World Title now held by Alberto Puello, who won one of the titles dropped by Josh Taylor. Puello will be defending his World Title against Rolly Romero in May, but for Lewis Ritson and Ohara Davies, this Saturday is a big opportunity to get into the mix in an open Division.
Not that much time has passed since Ritson and Davies were being promoted by Eddie Hearn, but performances and/or behaviour was not up to scratch and the pair have been rebuilding far under the radar since days of being promoted as main event level players.
Ohara Davies admits himself that he is not the biggest ticket seller and that means going on the road into the lion's den once again. However, he has only been beaten by Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall and those two are fighters at the World level where Davies still believes he deserves to be operating.
To be perfectly blunt, there are not too many wins on his resume that suggests that should be the case, but this is a big opportunity for Ohara Davies.
Lewis Ritson has to feel the same having burst onto the scene with big wins over Joe Murray, Scott Cardle and Paul Hyland Jr over a combined Four Rounds, but the spark was doused when beaten by Francesco Patera in his home town.
A very fortunate win over Miguel Vasquez in a fight that many felt he lost was followed by a brutal beatdown by Jeremias Ponce, which mercilessly ended in the Tenth Round.
Two wins since then has just gotten Ritson back on track, but both of these fighters have not been as active as they should have been and I do think Ohara Davies is the better Boxer of the two.
At one stage people spoke about Ritson's power being a massive difference maker, but only two of his last eight fights have ended in a Stoppage win and I don't think he will be able to put that kind of dent into Ohara Davies. The latter has a decent Stoppage record of his own, but the feeling is that Ohara Davies will not want to take too many risks early and he can build a big lead on the cards against the home fighter.
At 31 years old Ohara Davies has to make his move now and Lewis Ritson took a pretty bad beating from Ponce, the kind of fight that will take years off a fighter's resiliency.
The home crowd should keep Lewis Ritson marching forward in a bid to turn this fight around, but I think Ohara Davies will find the openings the longer it goes on and the punches will wear down Ritson over the course of the Twelve Rounds.
Winning on the cards away from home isn't easy, but Davies has the skills to do that.
However, I think there will be an opportunity for Two Tanks to just plant his feet and hurt Lewis Ritson in the latter stages of this one and a late Stoppage is the pick.
On the undercard, unbeaten Thomas Patrick Ward takes on fellow unbeaten Otabek Kholmatov in what is an eliminator for the WBA World title currently held by Mauricio Lara. Any World Title shot may be some way down the line in that organisation, but Ward is also highly Ranked by the WBO and a win may see him in a position to fight the winner of Isaac Dogboe and Robeisy Ramirez who fight for the vacant World Title next month.
It is a big test for Ward as he steps up a considerable level and I just have this feeling this could end up in a similar way as when unbeaten Danny Dignum stepped up in class to fight Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Otabek Kholmatov has not been as active as he would have expected to be, and he was finally pushed the distance in his last fight a year ago. However, it feels he has been progressing much more quickly than Thomas Patrick Ward and I think the power will make all the difference in this one.
I just think Ward is fortunate to still have a high Ranking and an unbeaten record as he looked well on the way to a loss against Thomas Essomba before an accidental cut led to a Technical Draw on the cards.
If he can get through the first half of the fight, Thomas Patrick Ward may feel he has the ability to earn a pathway to a Decision win, but I think Kholmatov will have the power to hurt an opponent taking a considerable step up.
MY PICKS: Brandon Figueroa to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.75 Bet365 (2 Units)
Ohara Davies to Win Between 7-12 @ 5.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Otabek Kholmatov to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.91 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing Update 2023: 3-7, - 6.16 Units (19 Units Staked, - 32.42% Yield)
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